Sunday Sounds: filous

I don’t know where the name filous came from, nor do I know which language the word belongs to. Despite my ignorance, I still feel like it’s an appropriately charming name for a producer with his particular sound.

I first heard of filous from his collaboration with fellow Austrian producer, Mount, on their remix of Jose Gonzalez incredible cover of “Heartbeats.” It’s funny, whenever I see a cover or a remix of a song I hold dear, I immediately feel apprehensive, and perhaps a bit threatened. The song may not be mine, but that doesn’t stop me from treating it like it’s my new puppy.

“Be careful, treat it right, don’t get too excited, don’t drop it…here, just give it back.” It was as if filous was not only reading my mind, but he was also respecting every one of my wishes. He somehow manages to make it a more delicate sound, but at increased tempo. It’s an impressive feat in the art of restraint, and not something you’d expect from a 17 year old.

The further you go back into his admittedly limited catalog, the more you begin to recognize how much he’s progressed and improved as a producer, and you can hear his sound develop and take shape.

Another showcase of his skills is in his remix of RAC’s “Tear You Down,” featuring Alex Ebert (singer of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros), which re-shapes the song into an odd kind of electro-hymnal. The sonic bed he creates to lay over top with Ebert’s instantly recognizable voice is, again, an impressive exercise in restraint. Just the right amount. I don’t know about you, but I don’t remember having much, if any restraint at 17.

Cliches are just good ideas that have been beaten into the ground, and this Sunday, rethink how to go about a project or task using restraint, because sometimes less is more. filous would have us believe that “sometimes” is a lot more often than we might realize.